I was at the birthday party for an old friend last weekend and had the pleasure of a conversation with several of my son’s friends, all of whom are around 30. To my surprise they were anxious to talk politics, something new in my experience with the younger generation as they have generally always seemed turned off by the topic.

They were quick to toss out all of the right wing myths about government, using catch phrases like “tri-lateral commission” and “new world order,” etc., as though these things actually existed. They were certain of it.

At every turn in the conversation they made it clear that they were convinced that private industry should be in charge of virtually everything since, in their minds, government could only screw it up. It was as though they didn’t realize that Enron, AIG, Citibank, Lehman Bros., Merrill Lynch, Countrywide and all the others were private businesses that had done incredible harm to our society.

Later, I found myself thinking about this odd phenomena and came to the realization that during their lifetimes government has always been cast as an evil and dark force. It is simply not in their experience to conceive of government being able to play a positive role in society. To them it was nothing more than a monster standing in the way of private enterprise.

During their lives, government has been dominated by those who have focused on making sure that the agencies designed to regulate private industry have instead protected those industries from being governed.

Instead of agencies like the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) being a watchdog, the Bush administration turned it into a lapdog. I doubt there is any logical person left who has witnessed the carnage in our economy during the past 18 months who still thinks this has worked out for the better.

Instead of the Department of the Interior ensuring that the gas and oil companies operating on our federal lands were paying their fair share of royalties to us, they were instructed to stop collecting from them! The main office in charge of this was located in Denver, Colo. Instead of sending accountants to review the books, the Bush administration sent hookers with drugs to party with them! I know this sounds impossible, so I invite you all to Google “Dept. Interior scandal” so you can read about it first-hand, please don’t just take my word for it.

These are but two examples that jump to mind but it’s the same story from the EPA to the Food and Drug Administration and right on down the line. No wonder these young men don’t believe in government! It takes one more step in the process of logic to understand that just because government has been hijacked and turned into a dark force, that it cannot be turned back into the force for good that we should all expect and demand.

President Eisenhower warned us when he left office in 1960 about the military industrial complex seizing control of our government and he was prophetic, as that is exactly what happened. No one was better able to understand the threat, as his unique set of experiences enabled him to see clearly the forces at work. Our government is owned and operated by the corporations who buy access to those in office to promote their agenda. Fundraising is now a full-time job for every congressman and senator. Until we take the money out of the equation, this will not change.

It is my sincere hope that President Obama realizes that this may well be the last chance to prove that government can actually work on behalf of the people.

One of his goals should be meaningful campaign finance reform. As long as our government is up for sale there will be no shortage of those who will buy it. This does not have to be all that complicated to be effective.

Why not simply limit all campaign contributions to a certain dollar amount and make it illegal for anyone other than a U.S. citizen to make a contribution? Corporations and unions are not citizens by the way and should not be allowed to buy votes. If they want to endorse a viewpoint or even a candidate, they should put their own commercials out there and clearly identify themselves with their own legal names instead of using sham names like “Concerned Citizens for Clean Water” when what they really want to do is dump industrial waste into rivers as a cheap way to dispose of it.

Another step in the right direction would be to outlaw all lobbyists. If they want to state their case for their industry, make it in a public session of congress, on the record. No back room deals, no contact with public servants in private settings, period.

We have an entire generation of young adults who have no reason to believe that government can work because our government has been hijacked during their lifetime. We must stop electing people who don’t believe in government, as that is simply a self fulfilling prophecy for failure and we must take control back from the corporations, or risk losing the democracy we give lip service to every day.

 

Lowell Grant lives in Kelseyville.

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